
A wandering pair of prospectors on the open prairie stumble upon a sight that defies imagination: a massive, lumbering figure powered by roaring steam, its head belching clouds while a lone driver steers it from a makeshift carriage. The uncanny contraption, half‑machine and half‑myth, draws the awe‑struck Mickey and the steady‑hearted Ethan into a tense yet fascinated encounter, as the thunderous whistle and billowing smoke echo the raw power of a locomotive brought to life.
Their curiosity quickly turns into a reluctant partnership with the enigmatic “Baldy,” the scar‑marked man at the helm, and his bright‑eyed youngster companion. Together they begin to unravel the crude genius behind the steam‑driven behemoth, setting the stage for a wild trek across the plains where ingenuity, danger, and frontier spirit collide.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (163K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Blackmask Online. HTML version by Al Haines.
Release date
2005-02-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1840–1916
Best known for fast-moving adventure stories for young readers, this prolific 19th-century American writer helped shape the dime novel era. He also wrote history, biography, and school texts, showing a much broader range than his frontier tales might suggest.
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